What Are the Most Common Anime Death Flags?

Sometimes, characters in Japanese anime will get killed off, but whether it comes as a surprise depends on the writing. Some anime deaths came as a total shock to viewers, with no real hint or foreshadowing to get audiences ready for such an event. In other cases, though, an anime series will use one or more "death flags" that clearly imply a character's impending demise.

The term "death flag" refers to any sign or hint that a character will get themselves killed at some point in the story, and some are more common or obvious than others. As an anime fan watches more series, they will start seeing patterns and pick up on these death flags, which may serve as minor spoilers for a character's eventual fate. Some death flags may be subtle or rare, but others are rather obvious, serving as substantial spoilers for what's about to happen. Such flags can appear in various genres, too, from shonen action anime to drama romance series and more. Anime fans can think of ten particular cases where a death flag couldn't be more obvious.

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10 Death Flags That Mean An Anime Character is Probably Going To Die

Whether it's reminiscing on the past or being named Krillin, there are warning signs for an anime character's demise.

10 Maes Hughes Died When He Stumbled Upon Father's Secret

It's both amusing and tragic that the beloved Maes Hughes actually had two major death flags right before his demise in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The anime had trumpeting fanfare to announce Maes' obvious death early in the anime, starting with Maes' fixation on his family. He was introduced with a classic death flag: overt fondness for his family. He always carried around photos of his wife and daughter, and was well-known for it.

Then, Maes Hughes stumbled upon Father's villainous plan, and that was death flag #2. If a hero learns something they shouldn't, the villains will kill them to protect those secrets. Sure enough, both Lust and Envy went after Maes to keep him quiet about Father's plan, with Envy shooting Maes dead while in Gracia Hughes' form.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Two brothers search for a Philosopher's Stone after an attempt to revive their deceased mother goes awry and leaves them in damaged physical forms.

Release Date

April 5, 2009

Cast

Romi Park , Rie Kugimiya , Vic Mignogna , Maxey Whitehead

Seasons

1

9 Kyojuro Rengoku Was Too Perfect to Stick Around

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Demon Slayer: Kyojuro Rengoku Left a Legacy Stronger Than His Family

Demon Slayer's Rengoku family was a staple even before the Demon Corps was founded. Kyojuro left a mark even more potent than their legacy.

From the very beginning, the Demon Slayer anime made it clear that the members of the Demon Slayer Corps were fighting a desperate, bloody battle against demonkind. The casualty rate was rather high, and the anime proved it when a handful of "redshirt" demon slayers got themselves killed in Mt. Natagumo's forest. Then the Hashira arrived, and they did well against Rui's spider clan, but fighting an Upper Moon is entirely different.

In the Mugen Train story arc, Kyojuro Rengoku's death was all but guaranteed when Upper Moon 3, Akaza, showed up. It was obvious Akaza wouldn't leave without taking someone's life first, and due to Tanjiro's plot armor, it had to be Kyojuro who fought and lost to Akaza. Aside from that, Kyojuro's main death flag was the simple fact that he was so lovable and cool, his death would provide yet another emotional blow, and Demon Slayer is well-known for its emotional gut-punches.

Demon Slayer

When Tanjiro Kamado returns home to find his family was attacked and killed by demons, he discovers his younger sister Nezuko was the only survivor. As Nezuko slowly becomes a demon, Tanjiro sets out to find a cure for her and become a demon slayer so he can avenge his family.

Release Date

April 6, 2019

Creator

Koyoharu Gotouge

Cast

Natsuki Hanae , Zach Aguilar , Abby Trott , Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Seasons

3

Studio

ufotable

8 Carla Yeager Had Mom Hair, But No Plot Armor

Parents in shonen action anime, especially mothers, are known for getting killed off frequently to give the protagonist some emotional stakes and/or a reason to seek revenge or get stronger. Right on cue, protagonist Eren Yeager's mother Carla lost her life in Attack on Titan's first episode. In a brutal anime like that, moms like Carla are low-hanging fruit for the murderous plot.

Carla's death seemed like an act of brutal random chance, but it was actually symbolic in hindsight. At the time, the pure Titan that ate Carla seemed like just another monster, but Carla's killer was actually the Titan of Dina Fritz. Dina was Grisha Yeager's first wife before he moved to Paradis Island and married Carla, so it almost felt like Dina getting revenge on her ex-husband's new lover. On a more amusing note, Carla Yeager had "mom hair," the cliché hairstyle of anime mothers who tend to get killed off.

Attack On Titan

Original title: Shingeki no Kyojin.
After his hometown is destroyed and his mother is killed, young Eren Jaeger vows to cleanse the earth of the giant humanoid Titans that have brought humanity to the brink of extinction in Attack on Titan.

Release Date

September 28, 2013

Creator

Hajime Isayama

Cast

Bryce Papenbrook , Yûki Kaji , Marina Inoue , Hiro Shimono , Takehito Koyasu , Jessie James Grelle

Seasons

4 Seasons

Studio

Wit Studios, MAPPA

Number of Episodes

98 Episodes

7 Thors Snorresson Was Clearly the Type to Die For His Family

Thors Snorresson is another example of an action-oriented anime series that kills off the hero's parents to create emotional stakes, leading to some obvious death flags for Thors. Fortunately, Thors' wife Helga survived, so at least protagonist Thorfinn Karlsefni still had a mother to return home to later in Vinland Saga's story.

Thors wasn't just an action-hero parent, however. He was also an avowed pacifist, a former Jomsviking warrior who had a strong anti-violence philosophy. He was also an exemplary parent who meant everything to his wife, son, and daughter, so of course a bloody medieval anime like Vinland Saga would kill him off. Thors' death at the Faroe Islands prompted Thorfinn's quest for revenge, but that wasn't the legacy Thors had in mind for his son.

Vinland Saga

Thorfinn pursues a journey with his father's killer in order to take revenge and end his life in a duel as an honorable warrior and pay his father an homage.

Release Date

July 8, 2019

Creator

Makoto Yukimura

Cast

Aleks Le , Mike Haimoto , Yûto Uemura , Alejandro Saab

Seasons

2 Seasons

Studio

Wit Studio, Studio MAPPA

Production Company

Wit Studio, Mappa

Number of Episodes

48 Episodes

6 Portgas D. Ace Was an Obvious Emotional Vulnerability For Luffy

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One Piece series creator Eiichiro Oda once revealed that he almost spared fan-favorite character Portgas D. Ace from his ultimate fate.

Plenty of shonen anime will kill off the hero's parents to deliver an emotional impact, but sometimes, an anime like One Piece will take the sibling route instead. Protagonist Monkey D. Luffy was never in a position to have a parent tragically die, so that grim duty fell to his foster brother, Portgas D. Ace. That death flag was made stronger by the fact that Ace had no plot armor whatsoever.

For a time, One Piece fans hoped Luffy could do the impossible and rescue Ace from right under the Navy leaders' noses, but it wasn't meant to be. Admiral Akainu/Sakazuki directly confronted the brothers and delivered a mighty magma punch that sealed Ace's fate. It was a serious blow, but perhaps not a surprising one. Even if One Piece usually pulls its punches with character deaths, shonen fans know that beloved family members tend to get killed off.

One Piece

Follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew in order to find the greatest treasure ever left by the legendary Pirate, Gold Roger. The famous mystery treasure named "One Piece".

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Creator

Eiichirô Oda

Cast

Mayumi Tanaka , Kazuya Nakai , Kappei Yamaguchi , Hiroaki Hirata , Ikue Ôtani , Akemi Okamura , Yuriko Yamaguchi , Kazuki Yao

Seasons

20

Studio

Toei Animation

Production Company

Toei Animation

Number of Episodes

1K+

5 Asuma Sarutobi Felt Too Innocent For Naruto Shippuden's World

If a shonen anime like Naruto won't kill off a character's parents or siblings, then a beloved mentor is next in line to get killed off and create some drama in the process. Mentors often die or get written out while protecting their students, from Obi-Wan in Star Wars to All Might in My Hero Academia, and Naruto actually killed off two mentors. Jiraiya's death was tragic, but before that came Asuma's death, which was even more obvious.

Asuma was a father figure for Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji, and he almost felt too nice for an increasingly brutal story like Naruto Shippuden. Once the story made him the central star, it was clear as day that Asuma would get killed off, especially since he had no plot armor and had no other major role in the story. Fans might even say Asuma was a jobber to show how strong Hidan and Kakuzu were, making his death even more obvious right before it happened.

Naruto: Shippuden

Original title: Naruto: Shippûden.
Naruto Uzumaki, is a loud, hyperactive, adolescent ninja who constantly searches for approval and recognition, as well as to become Hokage, who is acknowledged as the leader and strongest of all ninja in the village.

Release Date

February 15, 2007

Creator

Masashi Kishimoto

Cast

Alexandre Crepet , Junko Takeuchi , Maile Flanagan , Kate Higgins , Chie Nakamura , Dave Wittenberg , Kazuhiko Inoue , Noriaki Sugiyama , Yuri Lowenthal , Debi Mae West

Seasons

21

Main Characters

Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Kakashi Hatake, Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, Orochimaru, Tsunade Senju

Production Company

Pierrot, TV Tokyo, Aniplex, KSS, Rakuonsha, TV Tokyo Music, Shueisha

Number of Episodes

500

4 Himeno Kept Talking About People Dying at Work

From the start, the brutally subversive animeChainsaw Man gladly killed off or maimed one character after another, villains and heroes alike, and no one was safe. Characters like Himeno and Aki Hayakawa often commented on how often devil hunters get themselves killed, creating death flags for not just one, but a whole crowd of Chainsaw Man characters. It's rare for an anime to set up so many characters to get killed off.

Himeno's death flags came in the form of her constant commentary on death and danger in her career, along with her sheer likability. Of course, an anime like Chainsaw Man would tear out fans' hearts by killing her off, allowing Himeno to fulfill her transparent prophecy about her own death. It was sad, but not surprising when Himeno gave her entire life to the Ghost Devil to fight Katana Man and Akane.

Chainsaw Man

Following a betrayal, a young man left for dead is reborn as a powerful devil-human hybrid after merging with his pet devil and is soon enlisted into an organization dedicated to hunting devils. When his father died, Denji was stuck with a huge debt and no way to pay it back.

Release Date

October 11, 2022

Creator

Tatsuki Fujimoto

Cast

Kikunosuke Toya , Ryan Colt Levy , Tomori Kusunoki , Suzie Yeung

Seasons

1

Studio

MAPPA

Main Characters

Denji, Makima, Pochita, Power, Himeno, Kishibe

Number of Episodes

12

Network

Crunchyroll

3 Twice Bonded With Himiko, Then Fought a Powerful Hero

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How the Sacrifice of MHA’s Twice Flips the Hero Vs. Villain Narrative

Twice's sacrifice fully embodies my Hero Academia’s ever-expanding exploration of the ideologies and gray area between heroes and villains.

Villains in shonen anime tend to have thin plot armor since they can be easily killed off or captured to make sure the day is saved and the heroes win. It's a given that minor villains like Mustard, Gentle Criminal, and Moonfish will swiftly lose to the heroes, but for major, more developed villains, it's not so clear. Tomura Shigaraki, for example, will probably lose in the end, but he has escaped capture and defeat many times already.

Meanwhile, the villain Twice racked up some death flags in later My Hero Academia seasons as a sympathetic, vulnerable villain who formed a much-needed friendship with Himiko Toga. That made it evident that Twice would get killed off to create some moral ambiguity about fighting or killing villains, and My Hero Academia delivered when Hawks killed Twice with his feathers.

My Hero Academia

Izuku has dreamt of being a hero all his life—a lofty goal for anyone, but especially challenging for a kid with no superpowers. That’s right, in a world where eighty percent of the population has some kind of super-powered “quirk,” Izuku was unlucky enough to be born completely normal. But that’s not enough to stop him from enrolling in one of the world’s most prestigious hero academies.

Release Date

May 5, 2018

Cast

Daiki Yamashita , Justin Briner , Nobuhiko Okamoto , Ayane Sakura

Seasons

6

Production Company

Bones

Number of Episodes

145

2 Kokichi Muta/Mechamaru Made a Deal With the Devil

Jujutsu Kaisen's first season was merciful toward the heroes, allowing them to easily survive battle even against the likes of Jogo, Hanami, and Mahito himself. Characters like Satoru Gojo and Kento Nanami kept bailing Yuji Itadori out of trouble, but when the Shibuya Ward arc started, everyone's plot armor vanished in a hurry. Kokichi Muta was the first to go, and it wasn't exactly a shock when he lost to Mahito.

For one thing, Kokichi had no plot armor, and for another, he made a deal with the devil, Mahito, and then attacked Mahito with total abandon. It was brave and noble of Kokichi to fight such a villain with all his might, but realistically, there was no way for Kokichi to win. Sure enough, Kokichi got himself killed, which helped set the tone for the entire arc. Another slightly subtler death flag was the fact that Mahito hadn't yet killed off a major character to prove his strength, so Kokichi was an obvious offering for that need.

Jujutsu Kaisen

A boy swallows a cursed talisman - the finger of a demon - and becomes cursed himself. He enters a shaman's school to be able to locate the demon's other body parts and thus exorcise himself.

Release Date

October 2, 2020

Creator

Gege Akutami

Cast

Junya Enoki , Yuichi Nakamura , Yuma Uchida , Asami Seto

Seasons

2 Seasons

Studio

MAPPA

Production Company

Mappa, TOHO animation

Number of Episodes

47 Episodes

1 Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto Had Nothing Left to Do By the Time He Fought Yhwach

Captain Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto fought his swan song battle early in the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime arc, and from the start, it was clear that Yamamoto would be fighting his final battle. One death flag was the fact that the invading Quincy had the upper hand, and some Soul Reapers would need to be killed off to raise the stakes in this final war.

Another flag was the "going out in style" vibe that Yamamoto had when he fought both the fake and real Yhwach in the Soul Society. He used bankai for the first time in the anime, the perfect setup for him to die in a literal blaze of glory. Yet another death flag was the fact that Yamamoto had no further purpose to serve in the story, and his personal arc had long since been completed. If that weren't enough, Yamamoto had the rain death flag, where bad things happen while it's raining.

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War

The peace is suddenly broken when warning sirens blare through the Soul Society. Residents are disappearing without a trace and nobody knows who's behind it. Meanwhile, a darkness is approaching Ichigo and his friends in Karakura Town.

Release Date

October 11, 2022

Creator

Tite Kubo

Seasons

2